A number of different configurations of tires having some form of run-flat capability are known, i.e., the tire does not go completely flat when punctured or damaged, but retains at least a large percentage of its original sidewall height due to sidewall construction, an insert within the tire, etc. One principle of run-flat tire uses an essentially conventional tire with a solid rubber run-flat ring installed within the tire at the time the tire is installed upon its wheel. The run-flat ring has an outer diameter slightly less than the inner diameter of the tire casing, but has a section height of at least a few inches in order to prevent the complete collapse of the tire if the casing is penetrated. Such run-flat rings are commonly installed in tires used on many military vehicles, particularly those used in combat zones or areas of hazardous duty. Such run-flat rings permit the vehicle to maintain its speed after the tire is penetrated by gunfire, shrapnel, etc., thus allowing the vehicle to escape a potential ambush.
When a tire is damaged and requires replacement, oftentimes the run-flat ring is reusable. Accordingly, the tire repair technician will remove the run-flat ring from the old tire and reinstall the ring in a new or serviceable tire. Such tire and run-flat ring assemblies are installed on so-called “split wheels,” i.e., the wheel has inner and outer portions that bolt together, sandwiching the center of the tire therebetween. After removing the wheel and tire assembly from the vehicle, the technician initially verifies that there is no residual air pressure within the tire and then separates the two wheel halves of the split wheel and removes them from the tire.
At this point, the run-flat ring can be removed from the tire casing. Conventionally, this has been done by means of a strap installed diametrically about the run-flat ring while it is still installed within the tire casing. The technician then uses a ratcheting binder mechanism to draw up the strap, thereby compressing the run-flat ring across its diameter. One end of the long axis of the compressed run-flat ring can be worked further into the tire casing, with the opposite end being withdrawn from the casing for removal of the ring. The above-described procedure is quite tedious and taxing and requires a significant amount of time, perhaps as much as an hour or more for the removal of a single run-flat ring. The process must then be reversed to reinstall the run-flat ring in another tire.
Thus a tire run-flat ring removal and installation machine solving the aforementioned problems is desired.